Books for the beach

Our list of summer beach reading recommendations. But first, a detour on technology and economics...

Jul 15, 2025

Today’s Lightbulb is a bumper culture edition—but first, a detour into technology and economics. Our tech columnist Ethan Zuckerman kicks things off by asking: assuming artificial intelligence really is as transformational as the hype suggests, what compromises are we willing to make to facilitate its rise?

Because it certainly won’t be costless. We must consider the “environmental impacts of these energy-hungry systems and the possible impacts on human wellbeing due to job loss and theft of creative works.” Just because an AI-enabled future is possible, doesn’t mean we should “jump to the conclusion that it is inevitable, failing to question whether or not it is desirable.”

Elsewhere, Prospect alumnus Alex Dean interviews Helen Miller, new director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Miller calls on Labour to embark upon common sense tax reform—and for Reform UK to spell out “what’s going to get the axe” to fund its proposed tax cuts.

No offence to Helen, but the IFS’s wonkish reports aren’t exactly beach reading material—well, not for most of us anyway. And with the temperature climbing, many Brits are heading for the coasts. So we have compiled three lists of beach reading recommendations from our critics, contributors and staff. My personal choice was John Le Carré’s classic The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. And to round out our cultural smorgasbord, Sukhdev Sandhu looks at the interconnections between jazz and film.

Finally, thanks to those who sent in their favourite nepo babies, per yesterday’s Lightbulb on hereditary peers. Karen sent a long list of names including Nick Ferrari, Paul Dacre, “any number of Dimblebys” and, cheekily, author Bella Mackie, who happens to be the offspring of Prospect editor Alan Rusbridger. Perhaps coincidentally, Mackie’s books often feature the grisly deaths of father figures. While we’re on the topic, I’d like to dispel any suspicions of my own lineage—I have no known relation to Prospect contributing editor Tom Clark, though we both have distant relatives in Tasmania. So it’s vaguely possible, unintentionally, that I’m a nepo fifth or sixth great-cousin several times removed.

Email your favourite or least favourite nepo babies to ben.clark@prospectmagazine.co.uk, and/or your favourite books to read on the beach. I’m told Mackie’s work is ideal for such purposes, and I sincerely promise Alan had no hand in my saying so.